FollowLast Saturday marked the start of Berkeley Project Month. At 8 a.m. 175 volunteers gathered on Sproul ready to service the City of Berkeley in hopes of continuing to bridge the gap between the CAL student body and the residents of Berkeley city as The Berkeley Project (BP) has set out to do since 2006. The BP will also be hosting community service events this Saturday March 10 and Saturday March 17 in honor of Berkeley Project Month which annually hosts events on the last 3 Saturdays before Spring Break.
Since its start BP has been entirely student run and dedicated to creating a network of service activities which will serve the needs of Berkeley and its residents. With the ultimate goal being to create a strong relationship between the campus and the community.
“It’s an amazing program and I love it,” said Minnie Wong a senior and site leader who has participated in BP’s events for the last three years.
Each fall BP hosts Berkeley Project Day, an event where more than 2,000 students join together to volunteer. Spring semester is when BP month is held and students can choose from three days to serve.
According to Wong it can be difficult for students to find ways to help the community but BP is a great outlet for community service.
“It’s nice being able to do something one day out of the year where you are making a difference,” said sophomore volunteer Allison Walters.
Last weekend BP sent volunteers to eight sites around the Berkeley area. Registered students planted tree wells along Sacramento Street, removed ivy at Indian Rock, weeded at multiple sites including The Berkeley Rose Garden, cleared storm drains and gutters for the CalJulia Neighborhood Group, worked with CHIA on their habitat restoration project, removed fire-prone French broom for Friends of Five Creeks, helped the Aquatic Park EGRET improve their loop trail, and repaired walkways at Schoolhouse Creek Common.
“It’s [BP] a pretty big effect because it builds a greater connection with the community,” said Wong. “Today just from the community corner, they really appreciated it and said they had a much better outlook on the future because they have such a great network with Berkeley.”
Wong was a site leader for the team that volunteered at The Berkeley Rose Garden and said working with her team was great.
“Everyone was really enthusiastic and just great volunteers who were ready to do anything,” said Wong.
Along with the volunteers, BP month and day is made possible by the core directors and committee members of BP.
Sophomore Kelly Cai, the event planning director said, “Countless hours have been put into making BP Month as successful as possible.”
Cai estimated that each director has put around 100 hours of work into their position.
Neda Hajan, a freshman and new member of the event planning committee, said it was a rewarding experience to see everyone’s hard work come together.
“To see to extent to which everything was able to come together for the start of Berkeley Project Month was exhilarating,” said Cai. “I must say that I have been extremely fortunate to be in the company of such hard working and dedicated core and committee members.”
Chloe Lubinski, the president of BP said the March 3rd kick off went great. Lubinski said making the event run smoother this year was a key focus for core and committee members and it paid off.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the effort shown by Core, our community organizers, our site-leaders, and each one of our volunteers,” said Lubinski.
According to Lubinski this upcoming weekend and next weekend’s events will have live performances in the morning to liven up the volunteers a bit before the actual work day.
This weekend around 170 volunteers will be working at Berkeley Unified School District for the music department, volunteering for Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) in Ursula Sherman Village, Thousand Oaks School, and Planters Makeover.
Student volunteer registration is closed for Berkeley Project Month 2012, but according to Cai because of the strong interest shown this year BP is hoping to accommodate more volunteers in the coming semesters.
“Berkeley Project Month has expanded in volunteer capacity, and we have been working to accommodate an increasing number of volunteers,” said Cai.
Walters said students should know BP is a great chance to help the community and enjoy time with your friends.
“It’s one day out of the semester,” said Walters. “It’s low commitment, stress free, plus you can go out with your friends and build some great memories off of it.”
Post Script: If you’re interested in being on the staff, core members are recruiting committee members. Come to meetings on Thursday 8-9pm in 123 Wheeler to learn more or visit berkeleyproject.org!
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